Netball wrap: Mystics in pole position, the Pulse's dilemma

Analysis - The Mystics climbed to the top of netball's ANZ Premiership ladder after beating the Stars 67-47 in Auckland on Monday, putting them in a prime position to host the grand final.

Donnell Wallam returned to the court for the first time since she injured her wrist at the end of round three, and looked like she hadn't been away.

The Australian import finished with 42 goals in 46 minutes, and was replaced by Sophia Lafaiali'i, who has been a real find for the Mystics this year.

Mystics goal keep Catherine Hall continued her stunning form, etching out seven deflections and one intercept.

The Stars terrible run of injuries continued, with former Silver Fern Kayla Johnson ruled out of the game.

The Mystics took a 31-24 half-time lead over the bottom of the ladder Stars.

Stars captain Maia Wilson went into GS early in the second half, with Charlie Bell's hands just letting her down.

The Mystics made plenty of changes in the third quarter, including pushing wing attack Peta Toeava into goal attack, but the substitutions were seamless.

The Mystics and Tactix have already guaranteed themselves two of the three spots in the finals series.

The most fascinating storyline over the final two rounds will be the battle for the final play-off spot between the Pulse and Steel.

Playing with a sense of desperation, the Pulse beat the table topping Tactix 59-50 in Wellington on Sunday to put themselves back into third, just ahead of the Steel.

Can Pulse win title with one shooter?

Pulse goal attack Tiana Metuarau put up just one goal in her side's win over the Tactix. The week before that Metuarau shot seven goals, and the week before that four goals.

Metuarau has scored 58 goals so far this season after eight matches in which she has played majority of minutes on court - an average of seven goals per game.

Remarkably, in her first season in the ANZ Premiership in 2017 - she put up an average of 20 goals per game.

Somewhere in between, the 24-year-old has lost confidence in going to the post and become more of a third feeder.

Fortunately for the Pulse, Amelia Walmsley has been a tower of strength, and had one of her best outings of the season with 54 goals against the Tactix.

You could argue there is far too much reliance on Walmsley, who is the leading goal scorer in the competition, or that the Pulse are simply playing to their strengths.

It's not that different to the situation the Mystics were in back in 2021 when Silver Fern Grace Nweke was shooting most of the goals, and goal attack Bailey Mes shot very few.

The Mystics went on to win the title that year so there's probably no right or wrong approach, except there's a risk that the Pulse are too predictable and they'd be in trouble if Walmsley got injured.

The Pulse could utilise shooter Amorangi Malesala a lot more, given that the former Stars player is known for backing herself and going to post.

Yes to shorter season

Last year Netball New Zealand announced that the domestic league would be cut from three rounds to two.

The 2025 ANZ Premiership consists of 30-round robin matches and two finals over a 12-week period.

Under the previous three-round format, 45 matches and two finals were played over a 17-week period.

The worst aspect of it was that teams were playing each other three times and it felt like the season dragged on.

At the time Netball NZ said the change was designed to ensure an engaging and exciting competition in response to teams' and audience feedback.

You would have to say it has been more engaging, knowing that teams can't afford to lose many games if they want to qualify for the play-offs.

The players have had to face more pressure cooker situations under the two-round season, which can only be good for them.

After three successive losses, the Pulse had their backs against the wall when they hosted the Tactix on Sunday.

Pulse captain Kelly Jackson said the pressure of a shorter season was palpable

"It's going to be over in the blink of an eye and has just shown how crucial each game is, in terms of being able to accumulate points because before you know it, the season's over and you're at Finals time,'' Jackson said.

"It has taken time to adjust to that and you do feel a considerable difference in going from a three-round competition to two rounds. There's not much time to muck around."

It's disappointing that Netball NZ have not been able to organise anything in the window that opened up as a result of a shorter domestic season.

The Silver Ferns will play just seven Tests this year, nowhere near the international exposure they need before next year's Commonwealth Games.

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